Meaning & Origins

In use from the mid-19th century in honour of the popular elder son of Edward VII, who was created Duke of Clarence in 1890, but died in 1892. His title (Dux Clarentiae in Latin) originated with a son of Edward III, who in the 14th century was married to the heiress of Clare in Suffolk (which is so called from a Celtic river name and has no connection with the given name Clare). The title has been held by various British royal princes at different periods in history. In the United States the name was borne most notably by the American defence lawyer Clarence Darrow (1857–1938), played in various films by Orson Welles, Spencer Tracy, and Henry Fonda.